Why Resident Sentiment Matters

By Maddy May

Tourism doesn’t take place in an alternate universe; it takes place in destinations where people live their everyday lives.

As destinations continue to navigate growth, development, and evolving visitor expectations, understanding resident views has become more important. Resident sentiment captures how people living in an area perceive tourism and its impact on their community, from its economic and cultural benefits to the effects of visitor volume, development, major events, and other tourism-related activity on everyday life.

Resident sentiment research provides destination leaders with a better understanding of how tourism is impacting their community and helps inform decisions that support both residents and visitors. It also establishes a benchmark for understanding how residents feel today and creates a foundation for tracking how those perceptions change over time.

But why does resident sentiment matter?

Residents Are More Than Stakeholders

Residents are often described as stakeholders in tourism, but they are also part of the destination experience itself. They shape a destination's culture, contribute to its sense of place, and influence how visitors experience the destination.

Because residents are connected so closely to the success of a destination, understanding their perspectives can provide unique insights for destination planning, communication, and long-term strategy.

Resident sentiment research also helps destination leaders move beyond broad assumptions about community opinion. While an overall sentiment score can provide a useful snapshot, it may not tell the whole story. Perceptions of tourism can vary based on where someone lives, their relationship to the tourism industry, length of residency, and other community factors. Understanding these differences can help destinations uncover opportunities, identify concerns, and make more informed decisions that reflect the needs of their community.

Understanding Tourism's Impact on Quality of Life

Tourism can create economic impacts, support local businesses, and contribute to community development. At the same time, it can also create challenges that affect residents' daily lives.

Consider a destination that experiences a significant influx of visitors during a seasonal event or peak travel period. How does that increase in visitation affect residents' perceptions of traffic, waiting times for services, access to local amenities, economic benefit, community pride, or overall quality of life? These are questions that cannot be answered through visitor research alone.

Resident sentiment research helps destinations understand how tourism is influencing quality of life from the resident perspective. It provides insight into where residents see benefits, where concerns may exist, and how those perceptions vary across different groups within the community.

Just as importantly, it helps destination leaders understand what actions may be needed in response. Findings can inform resident communication strategies, visitor education efforts, event planning, tourism development initiatives, and broader community planning decisions. When destinations understand how residents are experiencing tourism, they are better positioned to make decisions that support both community well-being and a positive visitor experience.

Supporting Long-Term Destination Health

Tourism success is not just about attracting visitors today; It is also about ensuring destinations remain great places to live in the future.

While a single study can provide valuable insights, resident sentiment is often most powerful when measured on an ongoing basis. Communities are constantly changing. New developments, infrastructure investments, major events, shifts in visitor volume, and evolving resident priorities can all influence how people feel about tourism.

By tracking sentiment over time, destination leaders can move beyond a one-time snapshot and begin to understand what is driving change. Are residents becoming more supportive of tourism? Are concerns increasing in certain areas of the community? Are recent initiatives improving perceptions, or are new challenges beginning to emerge? Ongoing research helps answer these questions and provides the context needed to make informed decisions.

There are many ways destinations can monitor resident sentiment over time. Resident sentiment surveys can establish benchmarks and track key data year after year. Pulse surveys can provide quick feedback on emerging issues. Resident panels and online insight communities allow destinations to engage residents on an ongoing basis, while focus groups and listening sessions can provide deeper context behind survey findings. Together, these approaches help destinations build a more complete understanding of their communities and how perceptions are evolving.

Here is W5’s approach to understanding, measuring, and tracking resident sentiment.

The Future of Tourism Starts with Residents

The most successful destinations recognize that tourism and community well-being are closely connected.

Resident sentiment research helps destination leaders benchmark current perceptions, listen to resident voices, track changes over time, and better understand the factors shaping community attitudes toward tourism. Those insights can help guide planning, strengthen community engagement, and support decisions that create positive outcomes for both residents and visitors.

After all, the health of a destination starts with the people who call it home.

If a Resident Sentiment campaign is something your destination may be interested in, please contact W5, we would love to help!